


Hogwarts Express

by Maraudererasmut



Series: Wolfstar Shorts [36]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Peter, Asexuality, Coming Out, F/M, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts Seventh Year, M/M, Marauders, Marauders' Era, No Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-23 11:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16618094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maraudererasmut/pseuds/Maraudererasmut
Summary: The boys (and Lily) take their last ride to Hogwarts, knowing that this marks the beginning of the end.





	1. Platform 9 3/4

**Author's Note:**

> Summer is over for our boys (and girl)!
> 
> I have a lot of fun stuff planned for them during the school year. A bit of smut, a bit of drama, a bit of angst, a bit of fluff! But mostly lots and lots of Wolfstar!
> 
> On that note, if there was anything that you really, really wanted to read about from their last summer before school starts, now is the time to let me know! I'll definitely take recommendations. Otherwise, we're gonna head into fall. :P

Remus stared at the wall between platforms nine and ten, trembling hands clutching the trolley that held his school trunk. The last time he felt nervous while standing in that very spot was seven years ago, to the day. The same twisting knot sat in the pit of his stomach, the same dizziness threatened to overwhelm him. Seven years ago, Remus was about to face the unknown: a new school with new people, an entirely different world than he was used to. Today, he had the opposite problem. Remus was about to start his very last year at the only place in the world that he could call “home”. This would be his last time running through the wall that led onto Platform 9 ¾. This would be his last ride to Hogwarts. Remus squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force himself not to let the panic overwhelm him. A hand pressed against his shoulder and Remus jumped, almost falling over. Two strong arms caught him and helped straighten him up.

 

“You okay?”

 

Remus looked up, expecting two grey eyes hidden beneath a tangle of dark hair. Instead, there were bright blue eyes beaming down at him, a face he only vaguely recognized. Remus pulled back immediately, stumbling slightly before he used his trolley to get his balance.

 

The boy smiled at him, soft pink lips spread across a toothy grin.

 

“Hey…”

 

“Hi,” Remus responded tersely. He wasn't a fan of being touched, especially by strangers.

 

“It's Lupin, right?”

 

Remus raised an eyebrow, but his expression didn't change. He stared at the other boy coldly.

 

“I'm Callum... O'Connor. I've seen you around the halls at school. You're a Gryffindor prefect, yeah?” The boy flashed a confident smile that Remus didn't return. Lupin remained stoic, not saying a word. “You… you looked like you could use a friend… Are you alright?”

 

“I'm fine.” Some of the warmth started to return to Remus’ voice as he realized that this boy was just trying to be kind. “Don't worry about me.”

 

“Glad to hear it. I just saw you staring at the wall and… well, I was worried you were gonna have a meltdown or something…”

 

Remus shifted his weight nervously, avoiding eye contact. He had been fairly close to breaking down, but that wasn't something he needed the whole school to know.

 

“Just sad to know it's all ending soon,” he muttered, eyeing the barrier that they needed to cross in order to reach their platform.

 

“Oh yeah, this is your last year… you must be excited, though! After this year, no more exams, no studying, no more worrying about grades…” Callum let out a bright little chuckle, running his hand sheepishly through blonde hair in a very James-like fashion. Remus shrugged, trying to act casual, as if he didn't notice the boy's long blonde locks, soft dimples, and adorable freckles scattered about his pale nose and cheeks.

 

“I guess… but it also means leaving friends, y'know?”

 

Callum laughed cheerfully, causing Remus to smile involuntarily. 

 

“You mean the Gryffindor Quidditch captain? Yeah, I know that's who you hang out with. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll all stay friends once school is over.” The boy gave Remus a reassuring pat on the back. “Anyway, it was nice to finally meet you in person. I'll see you around, yeah?” 

 

Before Remus had a chance to answer, Callum was already waving goodbye and pushing his own trolley through the barrier. Remus stood still for a moment, pondering his strange encounter, until a familiar voice caught his attention.

 

“Remus!” 

 

Moony turned around to find Lily walking towards him, her parents in tow. She kissed them goodbye and they waved her off as she headed towards her friend.

 

“In case you didn't know, you have to run  _ through _ that barrier,” she teased, seeing her friend's confused expression.

 

“Really? Shit, I've been doing it wrong this whole time…” Lily giggled before swinging her arms around Remus’ neck affectionately. 

 

“Ready to take our last ride to school?” 

 

“...No.” He really wasn't.

 

Lily placed her hand gently on her friend's back, the same spot Callum had put his a few minutes before. She gave Remus a warm smile, her emerald eyes sparkling with excitement.

 

“This is gonna be our best year yet. And remember, things will only get better after Hogwarts.” She tried to be comforting, but Moony knew better. This year would be their last year under the protection of the most powerful wizard in the world, within the safest fortress known to mankind. Next year, the real fight would begin.

 

“You're right, Lily. Thanks…” Remus forced a smile as Lily weaved her arm into Remus’ and leaned into him. 

 

“C'mon, Remus. Let's go grab ourselves a compartment.”

 

Lily and Remus pushed their carts through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, emerging into the magical station that they'd be departing from. The large crimson steam engine spread out across the tracks, doors open for students to go in and out of the train. Groups of people were huddled together, families saying goodbye to students, friends excitedly greeting each other. It was still early enough in the morning that the platform wasn't excessively crowded; Lily and Remus both shared the habit of being early to everything. Lupin knew that was one of the reasons they both got chosen as prefects. Their Gryffindor counterparts all seemed to think that five minutes late was still considered  _ on time _ . 

 

Lily motioned towards one of the entrances to the train and Remus followed her aboard. There were plenty of free compartments to choose from, but Lily led the way to the back of the train before stopping in front of one.

 

“This looks as good as any. And it's far away from those Slytherin jerks up front. What d'you think?”

 

Remus smiled and nodded, and the two of them pulled their trunks inside and arranged their stuff. James and Sirius always arrived at the Hogwarts Express barely in the nick of time, so Moony knew that there wasn't any point in waiting for them on the platform. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a book, opting to read until his friends decided to join them in their compartment. Lily did the same.

 

Remus was half-way through a particularly fascinating chapter on the history of sleeping draughts when a familiar face appeared in the doorway.

 

“Hey Moony!”

 

Remus looked up to find Peter smiling at him, his hand up in a shy wave. Lupin smiled and nodded his head in greeting.

 

“Hey, Worms! Welcome aboard! Prongs and Pads aren't here yet, obviously.”

 

“ _ Obviously _ .” Peter said with a snicker, entering the compartment. He sat down beside Remus and stared across at Lily, his grin wavering slightly. “Hi, Lily.”

 

“Hello Wormy! Excited for another school year?”

 

Peter looked to Remus, as if his friend had a better answer than he could think of. Lupin had already brought his attention back to his book, so Wormtail turned to Lily and shrugged.

 

“Iunno… not really, no. I don't think any of the Marauders are. We don't really want our days at Hogwarts to end…Keep in mind, Lily, a lot of us didn't come from very...  _ healthy _ families. We've  made ourselves a real home at Hogwarts.”

 

Lily raised an eyebrow. She had never heard Peter talk about something serious before; he'd never opened up in front of her or mentioned his feelings. Up until now, Lily always saw Wormy as immature, someone who liked repeating James’ jokes and following along with his stupid ideas.  _ This _ Peter, the person he was away from James, had actual depth and maturity.

 

“You’re right. I'm sorry. I probably should have figured that out by now.” 

 

“It's okay, Lily, you were just being polite,” Remus muttered, not peeling his eyes away from his book. Peter opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he smiled at Lily and nodded. 

 

The compartment fell into silence as Lily returned to her own book and Peter pulled his wand out of his bag. Lily and Moony read as Wormtail practiced his spells, trying to perfect his non-verbal magic the way his friends had. 

 

The bell on the train rang, bold and bright, and an announcement reverberated down the halls, indicating that the train would be departing in five minutes. Lily glanced nervously out the window before turning to Remus.

 

“I don't see them… they're not going to miss the train, are they?”

 

Remus smiled and glanced up at his friend.

 

“Don't worry, Lily. They do this every year. Every year, they show up as the train is rolling out of the station. Every year they arrive in the compartment out of breath, carrying more stuff than they know what to do with. Those are the boys we chose to be with.”

 

Lily giggled while Peter rolled his eyes. 

 

Another announcement rang through the train. Prongs and Padfoot had two minutes.

 

“Think they'll make it in time?” Remus saw the worry in Lily's eyes and leaned forward to place a reassuring hand on her knee. Lily smiled, appreciating the gesture, knowing that physical affection wasn't as instinctive for Remus as it was for her.

 

“I think they will. And worst case scenario, they don't make it and they fly to Hogwarts. James is the captain of the Quidditch team, I think he can handle it.”

 

Remus and Lily chuckled together while Peter tapped his foot impatiently, frustrated that his friends were late.

 

A bell clanged loudly in the background, echoing across the platform.

 

“All aboard!” A voice called out, and the train began to move, slowly at first, before picking up speed, heading out of the platform and on its way to Hogwarts.

 

“Bugger…” Peter muttered under his breath, checking his watch. “Guess they  _ will _ have to fly.”

 

“ _ Who's _ flying?!”

 

James’ face appeared in the threshold of the compartment, completely flushed, as if he had just ran there. Sirius popped up beside him, horrendously out of breath. 

 

“I see your stamina hasn't improved,” Remus remarked at his boyfriend, smirking ever so slightly.

 

“Sod off, Moons. I'll show  _ you _ stamina!” Sirius lunged playfully towards his boyfriend, garnering laughter from his surrounding friends.

 

“Oi, stop your flirting! Let James inside!” Lily giggled, patting the seat beside her. Prongs and Padfoot dragged their trunks unto the compartment and stowed them away. James sat next to his girlfriend, but Sirius remained standing, staring at Peter.

 

“Hey… Wormy? Can… can I sit beside Moons?”

 

Peter glanced up at Sirius, clearly miffed. 

 

“What does it matter? We always sit wherever we want in the compartment. In fact, you usually sit next to Prongs.” Sirius looked to Remus for help, but his boyfriend shrugged. It was true, up until recently, Sirius would sit beside his best friend at every opportunity. 

 

“I mean… he's my boyfriend. I'd kinda like to sit with him… can I?”

 

Peter reluctantly got up and sat down in the vacant seat beside James. 

 

“ _ Happy _ ?” He said sulkily.

 

“Yup!” Sirius flopped down next to Remus and swung his feet up on his boyfriend's lap. Moony pulled his book out from under Sirius’ legs and opened it, trying to ignore the buffoon sitting next to him. “What, I don't get a kiss hello?”

 

“Not when you arrive late, you don't. You're gonna have to learn a valuable lesson on positive reinforcement.” Lily and James chuckled while Sirius mopily pulled his feet back to the ground and crossed his arms. Remus smiled to himself, knowing that things were finally back to normal: they were heading to Hogwarts, they were all together, and Moony would finally be able to relax and feel comfortable, for the first time in months.

 

Lily glanced at her watch and let out an exasperated groan.

 

“So... the three of us have to head out to a prefect meeting soon…” She brought the topic up hesitantly, knowing that Sirius and Peter wouldn't be thrilled with being left alone. Remus looked up at Lily, only just remembering about their annual introduction in the front compartment.

 

“ _ Three _ ?” Sirius asked, looking around at his friends.

 

“Yeah, three. James is head boy, remember?”

 

“Oh…” He clearly hadn't.

 

James stood up and smiled at Peter and Sirius. 

 

“You two behave yourselves while we're gone, okay?”

 

Lily and Remus both stood up and followed James.

 

“I’m sorry guys...We'll be back soon, Sere, don't worry.” 

 

“Bye guys,” Lily said with a wave.

 

With that, the three of them left, sliding the door closed behind them. Sirius looked at Peter, who was still glaring at him angrily.

 

“Well,  _ shit… _ ” Sirius muttered, not having anything better to say to fill the silence.


	2. Peter and Sirius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Sirius are left in the train compartment together. Their conversation gets a little more in-depth than either boy anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The term "Asexual" wasn't in common use in the 1970s, at least not in the context that we know it in today. There wasn't really a word for Ace people to use to help them identify as anything. It simply wasn't really acknowledged that people could exist without feeling sexual attraction or desiring sex.
> 
> I did a lot of research for this chapter, studying the history of Asexuality and the use of the term. I wanted to make sure I got all of my facts right before I published anything.
> 
> I'm touching on a delicate subject here, and I hope I did it justice. If you have any thoughts or feelings, feel free to share them! I'm always open to feedback!
> 
> With that out of the way, enjoy this short little bonding chapter.

“Fuck…” Sirius mumbled under his breath as he gracelessly lifted his legs and laid them across his row of seats. He ran his hands roughly through his hair, clearly frustrated, grumbling the entire time. “I haven't gotten to fuckin’  _ touch  _ him in, like, two  _ fuckin’  _ weeks.  _ Fuck! _ ” His last cuss was emphasized by a slam of his fist against the wall beside him.

 

Wormtail's head cocked to the side as he eyed Padfoot. 

 

“...So?”

 

Sirius sat up on his elbows and turned to his friend, anger seeping into his cold, grey eyes.

 

“What?”

 

“I said: “...so?””

 

“What does that mean, “ _ so _ ”?” 

 

Did Peter not care about his plight? Was he so absorbed in his own little wormy-world that he no longer gave a flying fuck about his friends?

 

“It means,” Peter began calmly. “So what if you haven't touched him. Do you need to? Is that… important?”

 

Padfoot's frustration quickly slipped into confusion.

 

“Um… yeah? He's my boyfriend…”

 

“...So?”

 

“What are you, a fuckin’ parrot?”

 

“So  _ what _ if he's your boyfriend? What, you can't go a few weeks without fondling and groping? Are you attached at the hip or something?”

 

“Are you…  _ jealous _ , Wormy?”

 

“No! I just don't get why dating automatically necessitates the desire to constantly be touching or snogging!” It was Peter's turn to get frustrated. Sirius wasn't understanding what he was trying to say. That was typical of Padfoot: the only perspective that Sirius Black ever understood was that of Sirius Black. The man was not known for his ability to empathize, and he'd be damned if he tried walking a mile in anything other than those bloody beat-up basketball shoes.

 

Sirius pondered for a moment, tossing words around in his head before deciding what to say.

 

“He's attractive.  _ I'm _ attracted to him. That's physical attraction, Pete. That's what it's  _ like _ . When someone's hot… when you're into someone… you just  _ want _ to kiss them. It feels good to touch them and be with them and stuff…”

 

Wormtail rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

 

“That may be the case for you and Prongs, but that's not normal…”

 

“... _ What _ ?”

 

“I can't imagine everyone in the world just wants to grope and fondle and snog and have...have  _ sex _ all the time. Not  _ that _ often…”

 

Sirius sat up fully and brought his legs to the ground. Elbows on his knees, leaning forward, Sirius looked directly at Peter, trying to read him.

 

“Pete… have you never been attracted to someone?”

 

Wormtail's face began turning a blotchy red as he ruffled his hair, imitating James’ nervous habit.

 

“No, no, I have. Of course I have!”

 

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

 

“Well then, what's it like for  _ you _ ?”

 

“Well, if someone's attractive, they look pretty… And… and you want to spend every day with them. You want to be around them…”

 

“...and kiss them?”

 

“Yeah, I guess…”

 

“...and touch them?”

 

“Not really, no. Like I said, Padfoot,  _ normal  _ people don't--”

 

“Is there anyone specific that you're sexually attracted to?” Sirius asked his question point-blank, interrupting Peter's explanation. The bright red splotches across Wormtail's face turned a shade deeper. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, twiddling his wand nervously between his fingers.

 

“Of… of course…”

 

“Who?”

 

Sirius was pushing, trying to coax a response out of Peter, to make him slip up. He had a theory, but Padfoot needed more proof before voicing it aloud.

 

“M...Marlene. She's… I'm… I'm attracted to her. She's… she's very pretty…” Peter avoided looking into Sirius’ penetrating stare, knowing that he'd have difficulty keeping up pretenses.

 

“Do you think about her? Y'know… when you  _ wank _ ?”

 

“Eww, no. Sirius, why are we talking about this? This is the single weirdest conversation we've ever--”

 

“Pete…” Wormtail looked up, meeting Sirius’ gaze for the first time. It wasn't malicious, there wasn't any humour or cruelty in Padfoot's stare. There was only understanding. 

 

“Yeah…?”

 

“Peter, you know I'm gay, right?” Sirius didn't talk about it often. He'd make jokes and beat around the bush, but it was very rare for him to outright state his orientation.

 

“...Well, yeah… you're dating Remus.”

 

“And you know that if  _ you _ were gay, we'd all still accept you, right?”

 

“Yeah, but I'm not--”

 

“Pete, the world doesn't work the way it used to. There's no more of that ‘ _ you're gay or you're straight’ _ nonsense… Like… Remus isn't either of those things, y'know?”

 

Peter continued to fidget, twisting and twirling his wand anxiously. 

 

“But I'm not--”

 

“Peter, it's okay if you're not into anyone.”

 

For the first time all day, Peter looked at Sirius and felt relief. Was it possible that Sirius could be understanding? Was Padfoot actually able to get what Wormtail was feeling?

 

“I… I mean… I'm not  _ not _ into anyone…”

 

“Right, well, if you weren't… if  _ hypothetically _ you weren't sexually attracted to anyone… if you simply never had any sexual feelings…  _ ever… _ you know we'd all still love you, right? Because we're family. And family sticks together.”

 

Peter looked away. He couldn't hold Sirius’ gaze, not with those eyes looking into him, deeper than he'd ever let anyone else in.

 

“Well… if… if that  _ was _ me… hypothetically… that would be really nice...”

 

“I mean, Remus is a _fuckin’_ _werewolf_. If we can accept that, we can pretty much accept anything.” 

 

Peter let out a weak laugh. Sirius always did have a knack for cheering him up.

 

“You… you won't tell anyone, will you?”

 

Sirius smiled, watching Peter's big round eyes watering slightly. He was like a lost little puppy sometimes, and Padfoot knew it was his job to always protect his pack.

 

“Tell anyone what? We were talking hypotheticals…”

 

Peter visibly relaxed, his shoulders loosening and his body letting out an easy sigh. 

 

“Yeah…” Wormtail muttered, calmness finally spreading across his face. “Hypotheticals…”

  
  



End file.
